The 2025 edition of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) moderated by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been concluded across the country, with 101 physically challenged candidates sitting for the exams in Lagos.
JAMB, under the leadership of the registrar of the board, Prof Ish’aq Oloyede, again prioritised the exam experience of the special candidates, the People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs).
The examination body did this through a project christened the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), designed to ensure absolute comfort for the visually impaired and other physically challenged candidates throughout their aspect of the gateway examination, the UTME.
There were 11 special centres across the country with distinguished emeritus professor Peter Okebukola serving as the Chairman of all the centres.
In Lagos, the exams for the candidates with special needs held for two days at the Distance Learning Institute of the University of Lagos, UNILAG.
A professor of environmental law and former Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University, Prof. Lanre Fagbohun, who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is serving as the Coordinator of the Lagos Centre comprising Lagos and Ogun States.
Prof. Fagbohun explained that back in 2017, JAMB under the leadership of its registrar and Chief Executive Officer conceived this idea of a Joint Admissions and Matriculation Equal Opportunity Group with the acronym J.E.O.G to intentionally and compassionately address the comfort of the special candidates of this vital examination and to also ensure total Inclusivity for all candidates regardless of their physical challenges.
“The goal of the body is to look at how to create an equal opportunity for people living with disabilities, and these are people who have problems with vision, those who have hearing impairment, those who have locomotor (movement) disadvantage,” Fagbohun said.
“So, JAMB felt that these people are also champions in their rights, but if you put them under the same conditions at the general centre with candidates who have no disability, nobody will recognise the need to give them the special care and attention that they deserve.
“That was how JEOG was created, and the chairman of the body is Distinguished Emeritus Prof Peter Okebukola. There are eleven centres across the country. I am the Coordinator of the Lagos Centre comprising Lagos and Ogun States. Prof Okebukola is the Chairman of all the 11 centres.
“What we (the body) do is this: after JAMB has announced we are going to have the UTME exam, we at JEOG will recommend two or three days for us to be able to deal with the people with special needs. We would have gotten a list of the candidates who had reported one disability or the other as required in their application forms, even as we ensure there is no capturing error in their subject combinations.
“After JAMB must have approved, we will look at our list of all the people living with disabilities from Lagos and Ogun States, we will extract their names and start calling them one by one, two months ahead of the date of their exam. One reason for this is to be sure that the candidates are within the centre zone, so that if we find out, for example, that you are in Enugu, we tell you to write your exam at the Enugu centre.
“We also want to be sure that we know the things we need to prepare for you ahead of your arrival, and when we have confirmed all of that, we will call to tell you to arrive a day before your examination day.
“From the evening of arrival of the special candidates and their one accompanying guide each, they are ushered into their hotel rooms already arranged for them ahead of their arrival and they are served dinner all at the expense of JAMB.
“Transport and logistics between their hotel rooms and the examination centre and other logistics are also fully borne by JAMB-JEOG. It is worth mentioning as well that even possible health emergency development is foreseen and an ambulance vehicle is also on standby.
“Not that alone, all the special candidates are supplied with free gifts of the Braille and Stylus as well as other aiding facilities as may be needed by the special candidates according to their area of challenges.
“Even those who have the challenge of using their arms but can listen, hear and comprehend loud reading are provided with special guides at the expense of the body to help write the exact answer dictated by the candidates after the questions have been read out.
The candidates were very happy with the arrangements made and they expressed the desire that this would continue for a long time to come.
Two of them who spoke to Channels Television expressed optimism that other examination bodies will rise to the challenge and emulate this laudable initiative introduced by JAMB.
“It’s not been so easy but the centre provided help, accommodation and feeding which enabled us give the exams our maximum attention”, said Peace Chidinma, one of the candidates.
Another visually impaired candidate, Chinaka Victory, said, “The measures put in place are fabulous and the government should continue this way. I would like to see a school for the blind established in each state of the country with all the special educational aids which I have enjoyed using for my exams.”